29/03/2020
“Battered but Unbowed”
Dear Team Rayomar,
I take this opportunity to report to you on how our group has fared since the start of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ). Through the implementation of various alternative work arrangements, and the heroic commitment of our frontline and mission critical team members, we have been able to serve our valued clients that have remained open and operating. What in normal times would be considered as regular course of operations - booking, customs clearance, delivery, billing, collection, sales, and even payroll, became very challenging work in view of the various limitations and changing restrictions of this ECQ environment. I salute all our team members throughout the group for your dedication and courage to face these difficult circumstances. This is no doubt a result of team effort, and I recognize the role of our support teams at Finance, HR, Admin, Legal, Audit, Marketing, Business Dev., and IT, in putting the support structure together to be able to get our work done.
These past weeks have been a period of confusion and adjustments, and I thank you for being flexible and understanding. But as we enter the 3rd week of the ECQ we need to shift gears to normalise and stabilise our operations. This ‘new normal’ means that we may need to operate at reduced capacity and with new untested processes. In some cases we will have to cease providing services and perhaps quickly adapt to provide new (required) services requested by our clients. We may be asked to do jobs that are not our normal function nor responsibility. So I request that you embrace these organizational changes for the benefit of our clients and your colleagues.
I would like to end by sharing with you a realization that recently came to me. As you know, nothing like this has happened in our lifetime. It is uncharted territory. And so I believed that nothing could have prepared us for what to expect, how to identify the “correct” strategy, or how to come up with the “right” decisions. But then it suddenly dawned on me that our teams HAVE CONTINUOUSLY BEEN PREPARING FOR THIS CHALLENGE. Through our good governance programs and pursuit of sound financial practices. Through our regular team meetings and strategic planning sessions. Through our pursuit of excellence by providing continuous learning programs and investing in modern systems and IT infrastructure. Through our efforts to find, get and keep the best people, and form strong bonds of teamwork. Through the enhancement of our brand and setting high quality standards. All of these actions matter! And have helped prepare us for this extraordinary event. What we need to do now is believe in ourselves, in our preparation, and in our leadership teams. Individually we need to step up to the task ahead - but always trusting that He will never forsake us or leave our side, even in the most difficult times. As we enter the 3rd week of this battle together, we may be partly battered but we are definitely unbowed. And I am now even more confident that together, we will win.
Never before have I been more proud to be part of this Team!
Mabuhay Team Rayomar!
Monchu Garcia
